A Carmelite Candidate Needs Your Help

I wouldn’t normally post an appeal here for money, and trust me, I’m not entirely comfortable doing so. But I’m reaching outside my comfort zone because I don’t believe just $1,700 should stand between my friend and her beautiful vocation.

Leah has answered God’s call, and is seeking to become a Carmelite sister. She’s spent the last year as a candidate in California, praying with the community she hopes to enter. She’s been admitted to begin her Postulancy this fall with one condition: That she pay off her student loans and raise the money needed to cover her health insurance for her three-year novitiate. Over the last year, she has raised more than $20,000 and is now just $1,700 away from her goal! In order to begin the next step of her vocation, she must raise this money by Wednesday. THIS WEDNESDAY.

Leah became a friend when we met through Endow. We were in the same group together for about two years, and in that time, each encounter with her was full of more compassion, holiness, and fun. And each time we were together, those qualities seemed to grow and grow. She wasn’t yet considering becoming a sister when we met and first became friends, but it was remarkable to watch as she received and responded to the call. And how beautiful that we studied the life of Carmelite sister Edith Stein, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, during this process!